Being proactive in finding a home to buy!

[JustALocal]

Hello!
We are a friendly local family of three (mum, dad, 9 year old daughter) looking to buy a family home (two or three bed house) in the Clapham Old Town area or south of Lavender Hill.

Of course we are registered with agents, but most homes seem to be bigger than we need and thus over our budget, yet we know that there are some places that are just right, they are just rare.

We are in an excellent position since we are under offer as of two days ago, and absolutely ready to go as soon as we find our new home.

We are patient, and our buyer seems to be too, but of course we want to move as soon as we can. The question is - to letter drop or no? I know people who have done so with success outside London. We have no idea if it's a good or a bad idea here. Any advice/experience much appreciated.

Of course, if you are in the area and are considering a move, or you know someone who is, we would love to hear from you ;-)

Have you thought about posting notes through the doors of houses in the area you are after. We did this a few years ago as we were looking to move to a very specific area (we'd narrowed it down to 3 roads) and it worked. We ended up buying direct from the owner who was thinking about moving but hadn't got around to putting the house on the market. An added bonus was that we agreed to split the saving on agent's fees. Might be worth ago if you know where you want to be?

Thanks LocalEditorWandsworth, that's so helpful. You don't happen to have the note you popped through have you? It'd be good to have one that has evidence of working ;-)